


Nanami Hiromachi's 'Normal' Birthday

by Ash0605



Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: All of Morfonica are present, Birthday Party, Gen, Happy Birthday Nanami!, Spicy foods!, Tags Are Hard, You deserve all the friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:20:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24761452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605
Summary: The first birthday of her High School years had incredible significance. After years of isolation, Nanami finally had friends to celebrate with.Happy Birthday Nanami!
Comments: 8
Kudos: 27





	Nanami Hiromachi's 'Normal' Birthday

June 16th was Nanami Hiromachi’s birthday.

Birthdays were special; you only got one every year. Yet Nanami’s birthday was usually no different from any other day. Another day of eating lunch alone and being silently judged and derided by her peers for her talents. Her family usually made a massive celebration out of it, but that didn’t count for much. Nanami had always yearned for friendship, and each birthday served to be a reminder of her solitude.

Yet this year was going to be different. Nanami had made incredible strides towards her ordinary ideals since her entry into Tsukinomori Girl’s Academy as a high schooler. Her intense study and observation of the normal lives of those around her was starting to pay dividends. She joined the Horror Research Club. She discovered that Girl bands were all the rage, and had joined one herself, becoming the bassist of a band called Morfonica alongside four other Tsukinomori students.

She excelled at bass initially, just like she predicted, and was terrified that her skill would push away the other members, three of whom were total beginners. Miraculously this didn’t happen. A few months later, Nanami felt more friendlier with the other members than she had felt with anyone else. Mashiro was kind and precious, and her imagination and the lyrics that were produced from them were incredible. Tsukushi was reliable and trustworthy, though it was always amusing to see her clumsiness shine through on occasion. Touko was a cheerful, popular media influencer who always knew what was trending for normal people. She had a scary encounter with Rui in the school courtyard one day where Rui had accused her of ‘pretending to be normal’ (which in fairness was true), but she hadn’t spread rumors or told anyone else, and her and Nanami were on friendly terms.

This year’s birthday would be the first one she would spend with people she could call her friends. She was excited for her birthday for the first time in years. However, there was an uneasy feeling that manifested after so many years of disappointment. This had to be a normal celebration, just like the dinner dates and slumber parties she had learned about on the internet.

Nanami had butterflies in her stomach as she heard the doorbell ring. She stopped pacing around the atelier in her house and rushed to answer the door. Tsukushi and Rui were waiting outside. The pair were consistently punctual, always arriving to practice early.

“Hey guys!” Nanami said, greeting the pair with a wave.

“Nanami-chan! Happy birthday!” Tsukushi cheered. Her voice still had her usual confident tone, but she seemed more jittery than usual. She had probably been thinking about and planning today for a good while. She was carrying a small, purple gift bag.

“Happy birthday” Rui regarded kindly. She too was carrying a small gift bag, which was coloured jet black.

“Thank you so much!” Nanami acknowledged excitedly. It felt so good to hear happy birthday from somebody other than her parents and immediate family. “Come on in, I’d hate to keep you outside for much longer.” She continued, beckoning the pair inside.

Nanami had almost shut the door when she heard shouts from a distance.

“Nanami-chan! Wait fo-!”

“Come on Nanami-chan! Don’t lock us out!”

Upon turning her head, Nanami saw Mashiro and Touko running towards her house. Rui and Tsukushi heard them too, and the trio waited in the hallway for the other two to catch up.

When they did, Mashiro was the first to speak, struggling to catch her breath.

“Happy Birthday - Nanami-chan!”. Mashiro stammered, placing her hands on her knees in an attempt to support her weight. Nanami could see a blue wrapped present in her hands.

“Aww! Thanks, Shiro-chan!” Nanami said as she turned to look at Touko. The reason Touko hadn’t said anything yet was because she was completely exhausted.

“Looks like you’ve been running for a while Touko~! It’s rare for you to be early!” Nanami teased.

“I didn’t want – to be late. I can’t let my gals down - on a day like this!” Touko fired back between breaths. She raised herself to her full height, revealing an orange wrapped present in the shape of a squeezy bottle.

“Happy Birthday Nanami-chan.” Touko paused for breath as she offered her gift. “I got you this!”

“I think it would be best if we went to the atelier first. It won’t do us much good standing here.” Rui suggested, perhaps eager to sit down or get started with practice.

“That’s a good idea RuiRui.” Nanami turned to Touko, revealing a cheeky grin, “Besides, Touko seems in no state to give anything at the moment.”

“Come on Nanami! Don’t beat me down like this!” she protested, prompting laughter from the best of the group as they made their way upstairs. Tsukushi moved to the back of the group to support Mashiro and Touko in their ascent.

\-------------------------

The members made their way into the atelier, making small talk among each other. The atelier was bright and sunny due to the windows letting in a generous amount of light from outside.

 _This is perfect._ Nanami thought. _Practice is always best when its sunny._

After the girls settled themselves with their instruments, Tsukushi stood up to speak.

“All right everyone!” Tsukushi announced clearly. “It’s Nanami-chans birthday today, as you probably already know. Practice is still going to go ahead, but would be prefer handing out presents now or later?”

“I don’t mind doing it now.” Rui said. The rest of the group, who weren’t expecting Rui to be open to doing this earlier, nodded in agreement. “If that’s the case, do you mind if I start?”

“Please do, Rui-san. Tsukushi replied, taking a seat in a nearby chair. Rui stood up in her stead, handing Nanami her gift bag before bowing and returning to her seat.

“I apologize if its unsatisfactory in any way. I’ve never bought presents for people before.” Rui confessed.

“Don’t worry about! It’s the thought that counts!” Nanami reassured. She squashed the bag between her hands to probe for its shape. Her eyes widened when she realized the present was in the shape of a DVD box, resulting her in tearing the wrapping paper off with eagerness.

“OH MY GODS! This is the _Deafening Pits_! We’ve been talking about this at the Research Club!” Nanami marveled happily. “Looks like I can get ahead of the others! Thank you RuiRui!”

“It’s a pleasure.” Rui reciprocated happily, a slight smile forming on her face at the prospect of a job well done. Not that the rest of Morfonica noticed.

They were busy looking at Tsukushi, who had gone completely pale.

“What’s wrong Tsu-chan? Are you scared of the cover?” Nanami questioned with concern. Mashiro had slightly recoiled before when she saw the cover, which depicted a teenage girl trying to climb out of a pit surrounded by ghosts.

Tsukushi shook her head and gulped, shaking like a leaf.

“I-i might have gotten you the same present…” Tsukushi stammered, offering her bag to Nanami before hanging her head in self-inflicted shame. Nanami tore open the present to find that, indeed, the exact same movie had been gifted to her twice.

“Aww Tsu-chan! Don’t worry about it! Like I said to Rui, it’s the thought that counts!” Nanami moved over to Tsukushi, pulling into a light hug in an attempt to comfort her. Tsukushi initially tried to pull away, but eventually accepted.

“Don’t worry about it Futaba-san.” Rui turned her attention towards Mashiro and Touko, eager to take some of the limelight away from Tsukushi. “Do either of you two want to go next?”.

Mashiro jumped up at the offer, taking her wrapped present and handing it to Nanami. It was quite large and rectangular and shape, fitting squarely across her lap.

“I hope you like it Nanami-chan! I’m not good at buying presents for people.” Mashiro confessed.

All Nanami could do is smile reassuringly in return. Were all ordinary girls so skittish about buying presents? Nanami pushed that thought aside as she tore into the wrapping paper.

“Sweets! OH MY GODS they’re all from a collection I don’t have!” She fully removed the paper to find a 2x2x3 rectangle made up of cubic boxes of sweets from a new collection. “This is incredible Shiro-chan! How did you find these?!”

“I remember you telling me about the grandmother of candies, so I went to her shop.” Mashiro explained. She looked taken aback, she clearly wasn’t expecting it to go this well. “I got stuck for about half an hour talking to her about sweets and mascot plushies.”

“I got stuck like that the last time I went as well!” Nanami laughed. “Thank you so much!”

Any further exchange of thanks between the pair was interrupted by Tsukushi, who had recomposed herself and raised her head to face Nanami.

“Nanami-chan, I sincerely apologize! I swear I’ll make it up to you next - “

“Don’t worry about it Tsu-chan!” Nanami interrupted reassuringly. Tsukushi eyes seemed to widen again, distraught at not being able to fully apologize. She turned to Touko. “I don’t mean to rush you, but now might be a good time to finish this off.”

“I know. Happy Birthday!” Touko cheered as she offered the bottle shaped present to Nanami. This was the one she was most intrigued about.

She tore open the paper to find a squeezy bottle of hot sauce. No, not just any hot sauce…

“Touko-chan, this is a bottle of Ultra-X hot sauce, right?”

“It is. I knew you liked spicy things,” Touko started to fidget, putting her hands behind her head. “but I might have overestimated how good your tolerance is.”

“I think you have. That’s one of the hottest sauces in the world, if not one of the hottest.” Rui countered coldly.

“Let’s see then.” Nanami said bluntly, cracking the lid off and putting a small drop on her finger, which started to feel hot. Feeling the eyes of everyone in the room on her, she put her finger to her lips and swallowed, eliciting a gasp from everyone else.

Touko was right in suggesting she wasn’t used to spices like this. Everywhere in her body felt hot, with her tongue feeling the hottest of all. She felt her face start to burn red, and she shut in eyes in an attempt to control the heat. That’s not to say she wasn’t enjoying it though! She loved powerful hard-hitting spices like this due to what they could make her feel. She was always surprising her parents with how much she could take.

With that thought, she felt herself choke and promptly snapped back to reality. She was too lost in the sensations to realize that everyone had gathered around her, and that Tsukushi had rushed elsewhere to grab a cup of milk and returned.

“Stay with us Nanami-chan! Drink this!” Tsukushi ordered, putting the cup to Nanami’s lips. Everyone was stricken with concern; even Rui had gone slightly pale.

Nanami accepted and drunk the milk, which helped a little bit in helping her cope with the overwhelming sensations. Not just the heat of the sauce, but everyone around her.

As well as the realization that none of this was normal or ordinary. Ordinary girls didn’t dabble in or take a dabble of one of the hottest sauces in the world. Celebrations aren’t usually burdened with multiple people buying the same present. This wasn’t the celebration she was envisioning.

It didn’t feel right, but it didn’t feel awful either. She did enjoy herself, after all.

Nanami didn’t understand.

“How are you feeling?” Tsukushi questioned.

“I’m feeling ok, though still quite hot.” Nanami groaned.

“I’ll grab more milk. Should we postpone practice or stop altogether?”

“Don’t stop practice. I’ll be ok.” Tsukushi seemed taken aback but nodded.

“In that case, we’ll take it slow today. We were working on Daylight again, right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and moved to their instruments to commence practice. Nanami had to push those nagging feelings aside for now. They could wait for later.

\-----------------

A few hours later, Tsukushi concluded practice, the session turning out to be rather productive. Morfonica wound down, putting their instruments aside and exchanging small talk with each other. Nanami had long since cooled down, helped by the slower pace of practice and frequent milk drinks.

The exception to this was Rui, who was still holding her violin.

“Everyone, can I say something?”

The other members turned, wondering what Rui wanted. Did Rui want to continue practice? Was she not satisfied?

“Sure, Rui-san. What do you need?” Tsukushi questioned. Rui seemed to hesitate, collecting her thoughts before she spoke.

“I haven’t composed any new pieces in years. So, I’ve taken to composing a little bit on the side to rectify this, and I think I’ve got something I feel comfortable showing. Don’t worry, I’ve only composed for violin.” She turned to look at Nanami. “You could consider this an extended birthday present if you want.”

The other members nodded in approval, moving their seats and sitting as an audience in front of Rui.

After a small nod, and a few seconds of mental preparation, Rui started to play.

The music was really good, to put it simply. The music was solemn and emotional, not just for the audience but for Rui, who had taken to moving along as she played. The sound wasn’t entirely clear and pure, but that was what practice was for. Nanami didn’t get it. Did ordinary girls have to worry so much about degrading talents?

Ah. There she goes again.

Nanami had been in her own thoughts as practice went on, despite her best efforts to save it for later. Rui’s playing reminded her that her celebration was far from normal. One might see girls bands at normal parties depending on the image of the band, but a singular violinist playing her heart out? Not a chance.

However, while Nanami had reacted to this revelation before practice with shock and confusion, she reacted to it now with a sense of acceptance.

Nanami was not an ordinary girl. She was a prodigy, the daughter of a successful artistic family. Her talents and heritage earned her jealous looks and derision, and she spent most of her time without friends.

Her younger self yearned for friends and held up the ordinary people around her as one of the standards to finding them.

Nanami had friends now. Friends willing to form a band with her and buy her presents. Friends scared for her safety when she had seemingly overwhelmed herself with hot sauce. Friends willing to play emotional, work in progress violin pieces.

Nanami had friends, so was there any excuse to feel sad or lost? Perhaps she had misunderstood the intentions of her younger self. Becoming ordinary was meant to be the means to an end, not the end itself.

She might never feel comfortable with her exceptionalism, but she felt comfortable that she had friends who would be there for her. In a way, that was all she ever wanted.

Nanami had been confirming and reassuring herself of her conclusion in her head, to the point where it droned out a bit of Rui’s piece. It served as a nice backdrop to her thoughts, though that probably wasn’t what Rui had intended.

Rui concluded her performance, her face wracked with emotion as she performed alongside her music. Hearing the applause of her audience snapped her back to reality, and her face assumed its usual stern appearance before she took a bow.

“I hope that was enjoyable. I personally found it somewhat dull, but I wanted another opinion.”

“Somewhat dull? That was amazing RuiRui!” Nanami praised.

“You sure slayed gal!” Touko reassured.

“That was remarkable Rui-san!” Tsukushi cheered.

“That was incredible Rui-san. T-thank you so much!” Mashiro said, trying hard not to cry.

This was way more praise than Rui seemingly expected. Her lips curled into a small smile, which seemed to energize Touko in some way.

“Today was amazing! So much happened, there was a birthday, we had a good practice, we even got serenaded!” She pulled out her phone. “We should take a picture to commemorate!”

The group agreed and gathered around Touko for a group selfie. Touko took several pictures in quick succession, and then quickly picked out the best one.

Touko occupied the centre of the photo, making a peace sign with one hand and grabbing Mashiro and pulling her in with the other. Mashiro’s radiant smile was a tad strained, as she clearly wasn’t expecting to join Touko in the centre of the picture. Tsukushi was positioned on the other side of Touko, giving a brilliant grin. Even Rui couldn’t resist giving a slight smile, smiling alongside Tsukushi.

Nanami herself was next to Touko, giving a massive grin. She was off centre from the lens partially due to superstitious reasons, but such a quirk didn’t make her any less important than the others.

Nanami felt a warm bubbly feeling build up inside of her. These were her friends.

She didn’t forget to ask Touko for a copy of the photo. When she inevitably looks back upon her youthful years, Nanami never wanted to forget this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> I basically crash coursed myself on Morfonica in a couple days in order to write this. I have officially come to the conclusion that I love all of them. (I wasn't expecting Tsukushi's voice to sound like she does???) I want Nanami to feel comfortable with her own exceptionalism, and I want her to know that she has friends that will go the mile with her. I apologise if any character in this story is out of character.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Any comments or feedback are greatly appreciated!
> 
> I hope you have a good rest of your day, and I wish you the best in staying safe!


End file.
